Blight

Blight Description My latest mod introduces an aggressive, adaptive challenge to the game (hopefully). I've been wanting more of a challenge, or sense of a threat/danger, as I usually tend to not go too much farther once I have water and food stabilized. Enter Blight. "The elders spoke of a hunger that doesn't just eat wood, but eats life itself. We thought it was just a campfire story to make kits eat their berries. We were wrong. It's in the water. It's in the soil. It's in the air. Be wary... the green is turning grim." - Unknown Features Contagion Mechanics The Spread: Once a plant is infected, it becomes contaminated. Over time, it will naturally attempt to spread itself to adjacent vegetation. There is also a small chance the air will carry the infection to random nearby tiles. Soil Corruption: The pathogen doesn't just kill the plant; it aggressively poisons the land. While a plant is blighted, it seeps contamination into the soil grid directly beneath it until the plant has either died, or until it has been removed by your Farmers or Foresters. Badwater Exposure: The pathogen thrives on the waste of the old world. Any vegetation exposed directly to badwater—or absorbing it through contaminated soil from badwater—runs a serious risk of mutating and contracting Blight. The idea here was badwater was always...well bad, but now it has lingering, and potentially severe, side effects. Spore Clouds: Microscopic spores drift across the map at random intervals (figured this was the best lightweight method), triggering a warning message and corrupting a random, healthy plant. Beaver Behavior In the beginning, your beavers might not have a cure yet, but they aren't helpless. Farmers and Foresters will automatically prioritize the outbreak within their working range (less micro management for you, and I felt this was more lore appropriate). Farmers: Farmers will automatically prioritize harvesting and salvaging blighted crops immediately, attempting to secure the crop's